Studying the causes of delays in construction projects: the case of Qatar infrastructure projects

Abstract

Background: This study aims to examine the causes of delay in construction projects, particularly in the case of infrastructure projects in Qatar. The most critical delay causes were analyzed in the perception of the project’s three participants: clients, contractors, and consultants. A literature review was conducted to highlight possible delay causes in other countries. There were gaps in detecting the causes of delay due to the lack of studies on Qatar infrastructure projects. Methods: The deductive approach has been used in this study for the quantitative method. It provides a new framework or theory for identifying the causes of delay. The quantitative method used a questionnaire that was created through Survey Monkey. The number of participants was one hundred thirty-three. The questionnaire included forty-one questions in four sections, one sheet for participant information, nine questions about personal data, thirty questions about delay causes, and two questions about delay effects. Results and Discussion: The data analysis was conducted on a questionnaire to rank the causes of delays by the Relative Importance Index (RII) method. Further analysis was undertaken to interpret the data by regression analysis. The results showed that client changing orders during construction was the most significant delay cause in Qatar infrastructure projects. Conclusions: The research aim was achieved by meeting its objectives. Several recommendations were suggested to reduce delays’ influence on Qatar's infrastructure projects. Research limitations were identified for this study.